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K< 



EXETER IN 1776. 



Sketches of an old New Hampshire 

town as it was a hundred 

years ago. 



PREPARED FOR THE LADIES' CENTENNIAL LEVEE 

HKI,D IN ' /f 





EXETER: 

MBWS-LETTER I'KKSS. 

1876. 



\- 



x°l'J^ 



EXETER IN 1776. 



The approach of the national Centennial has exerted a 
wide and perceptible influence upon the community. People 
in the active walks of life have hitherto usually paid little 
heed to the memory of the past ; many of them had hardly 
the curiosity to learn the names of their own grandfathers, 
and cared no more for the relics of a former generation, than 
for the dust beneath their feet. But the near prospect of 
the birthday of the nation's Independence, with its prelimi- 
nsLvy celebrations and preparations, has kept the public at- 
tention directed to the Revolutionary epoch, until all classes 
have begun to feel a genuine interest in the subject. No 
longer are the events of the last century the exclusive prop- 
erty of the antiquary ; they are fruitful topics of conversa- 
tion and study in numberless households. No longer are 
the clothing and ornaments, the weapons and domestic uten- 
sils of our ancestors allowed to moulder in attics and dusty 
corners ; they occupy conspicuous places now, and are handled 
tenderly, as objects of interest and pride. In short, the 
antiquarian fever has become in a manner epidemic, and the 
past takes the precedence of the present, in a double sense. 

In view of this happy direction of the popular taste, the 
present occasion has been thought a favorable one for pre- 
senting to the inhabitants of P^xeter a sketch of the town, 
and of some of the leading spirits who dwelt and figured in 
it, one hundred years ago. The picture may be somewhat 



crude, for it is necessarily drawn in haste ; but it will have 
the merit of being truthful, if records and apparently au- 
thentic traditions can be relied on. 

It is extremely questionable if one who only knew Exeter 
as it was in 1776, would be able to recognize the Exeter of 
to-day as the same place. The conformation of the ground 
in the vicinity of the river and falls must have greatly 
changed. The slope from the higher lands down to the 
water was formerly much more abrupt than it now is. The 
ridges have since been cut down, and the low ground filled 
up. A century ago, in very high tides, the western part of 
Water street used to be inundated, so that boats could be row- 
ed through it for a considerable distance. The road to New- 
market, in the earlier times, did not run down by the water's 
edge, but back from it, over the high land. The fact that 
the bed of Water street has been artificially raised,- was de- 
monstrated by an excavation made not long since in front of 
Messrs. Porter & Thyng's store, which exposed a stratum of 
gravel, several feet in thickness, evidently deposited there 
by successive generations of highwa^'-surveyors. 

And if we can believe the accounts that have been 
handed down, there has been a still deeper fill in front of 
where Mr. John W. Getchell's store now is. The house of 
Col. John Phillips was built there, more than a century ago, 
and was destroyed by fire only a few 3-ears since. When 
the house was erected, the front is said to have been three 
stories in height ; within the memory of those now on the 
stage only two stories have ever been visible, and the 
lower one of those was sunken at the last considerably below 
the level of the sidewalk. If the case was as represented, 
it is plain that Water street, at that point, has been built up 
at least a dozen feet above its original level. But it is prop- 
er to say that the foundations of the house, which were ex- 
posed when Mr. Getchell's building was erected, do not ap- 
pear to confirm the tradition. Still, there can be no doubt 



that the street has been a good deal raised there ; if not so 
much as the height of a story of a house. 

The change in the character of the public highways, 
since 1776, is worthy of special notice. For many years be- 
fore the Revolution the lumber-trade was the chief business 
of the town. Vast quantities of the choicest spoils of the 
forest were brought each year from inland points, to the Ex- 
eter landing^ — a part to be used for the construction of 
ships here, and the remainder to be rafted, or otherwise 
transported down the river. The greater share of the money 
raised for the repair of the highways was expended on the 
roads towards Brentwood and Epping, over which the staple 
commodity in which our citizens were so deeply interest- 
ed was Iiauled to tide water and a market. The result of it 
was that the other ways were sadly neglected. Fortu- 
natel}' this was of less consequence from the fact that most of 
the travel at that period, was upon horseback. The river, 
too, served admirably as a public highway', in former times, 
between the settlements upon its banks. So long as people 
could do their business by means ot boats, they were not so 
particular about the condition of the roads. 

The basin of the salt river, six score years ago, pre- 
sented a far busier scene than it does to-day. The channel 
was then capable of affording a passage to vessels of con- 
siderable size, and ships of from two hundred to five hun- 
dred tons' burden were built here ; six or eight of them each 
season, it is said. Several vessels were owned here, and 
made voyages along the coast and to the West Indies and 
Europe. "With ships unloading their cargoes at our wharves, 
with carpenters and caulkers plying their busy trades in our 
shipyards, and with long lines of teams dragging tlie mighty 
pines to the river side, the spectacle must have been full of 
life and animation. Perhaps something of the same sort 
may again be realized, when the obstructions to the naviga- 
tion of the Squamscot shall be removed. 



As the Revolution drew nigh, the lumber trade declined, 
and the business activity of the place diminished. The 
breaking out of hostilities sent some of the most enterprising 
citizens into the army ; commerce was suspended and ship 
building was no longer lucrative. The mechanics became 
soldiers or sought employment elsewhere, and Exeter, its 
limited resources drawn upon to the utmost to sustain the 
war, looked forward with anxious hope to the issue that was 
to bring peace and restore prosperity. 

Of course there were no sidewalks in 1776 ; those have 
come in mostly within the last half century. A few shade 
trees then flung their protecting arms over a part of the 
village, some of which are still standing, or have but recent- 
ly disappeared. A giant elm, here and there, remains to tell 
the story of the past century, and some sturdy button woods 
of equal if not superior age, on both sides of the great 
bridge, succumbed to disease and were cut down, within the 
recollection of many persons. But the great bulk of our 
present ornamental trees are of more recent date even than 
the sidewalks. 

The size and extent of the village was of course much 
less a hundred years since, than now. The entire popula- 
tion of the town at that period did not quite reach 1750 souls, 
which is something less than one-half what it now is. And 
as a large proportion of the inhabitants lived in the less com- 
pact parts of the town, the village could not have greatly ex- 
ceeded one-third its present dimensions. The character of 
the buildings, too, was generally inferior. To be sure the 
best of them were spacious, handsome and constructed from 
the choicest materials, as a few surviving specimens still 
attest ; but probably the major part of them must have been 
comparatively small and poor. Unpainted houses were the 
rule then ; they are the exceptions now. On the southerly 
side of Front street there used to be nothing but fields and 
woods ; Bow, Court, Elm, Elliott and Pine streets, with all 



their branches, are the growth of little more than forty years 
last past. 

In 1776, Exeter could boast but two churches, and those 
both Congregational ; nor was there either Academy or Semi- 
nary, then. But in the article of public houses a hundred 
years have probably given us no increase. There were then 
two taverns on the east side of the river, and the whole 
number was no doubt greater than it is now. This is to be 
explained by the different habits of the earlier generation. 
Auction sales and many kinds of public business were form- 
erly transacted at the inns, as they were usually called. 
They were places where the citizens of all classes used to 
meet, especially in the evenings ; and the convivial habits 
of the past age contributed essentially to their being well 
patronized. Exeter during the period of the Revolution was 
a place of great resort, and as those were not days when men 
could whirl into town from their homes by the train in the 
morning, and whirl back again to their own firesides in the 
evening, nearly every visitor here had to pass a night or two 
under the roof of one or another of our hospitable landlords. 

Exeter, a century ago, had but just assumed the posi- 
tion in the province to which its size and importance en- 
titled it. Forty years before, the town had become an ob- 
ject of jealousy and dislike to some of the dignitaries under 
the crown, at Portsmouth, and in consequence thereof had 
been tabooed and " left out in the cold," so far as it was in 
their power to accomplish it. The last royal governor, John 
Wentworth, however, was too sensible and politic to allow 
his conduct to be influenced by an old grudge. He took par- 
ticular pains to conciliate the inhabitants of Exeter ; visited 
the town repeatedly, in much state ; formed and commission- 
ed a company of cadets here, embracing many leading men, 
as a kind of body-guard to the occupant of the guberna- 
torial office, and established relations of intimacy with 
several of the prominent citizens. 



He labored zealously and conscientiously for the good of 
the province, and at the same time to uphold the power of 
Britain over it. He hoped no doubt that his special friends 
in Exeter might adhere to the cause of the crown, as so 
many of his connections and dependents in Portsmouth did. 
But he reckoned without his host. When the tocsin of war 
was sounded, Exeter might be said to be a unit, on the side 
of liberty, and the men whom Gov. Wentworth had delight- 
ed to honor were the first to declare in favor of their oppress- 
ed country. 

Exeter then became, and remained for many years, the 
capital of the province, and state. The Legislature held its 
sessions here, and during its adjournments, the Committee 
of Safety took its place, and exercised its functions. The 
courts were again established here, and the town became 
practically the headquarters of all military undertakings, in 
which New Hampshire was concerned. And here on the 
fifth day of January, 1776, was adopted and put in operation 
the First Written Constitution for popular government, of 
the Revolutionary period. The honor of taking the lead of 
her sister colonies in this momentous " new departure" be- 
longs to New Hampshire, and Exeter may well be proud to 
have been the scene of an occurrence so interesting and so 
memorable. 

The structure in our town which has perhaps retained its 
old-time appearance most jDerfectly for the past century, is 
the powder-house, situated on the point near the river on the 
east side. It was built about 1760, and has apparently un- 
dergone little repair since that time. It probably first held 
military stores destined for the French and Indian war, 
which, however, terminated before they could have been 
much needed. A few j'ears later it was opened, no doubt, to 
receive a part of the powder captured by the provincials in 
the raid, under Sullivan, upon Fort William and Mary in 
Portsmouth harbor, in December, 1774. But as powder with- 



9 

out ball hardly met the requirements of the times, the select- 
men of Exeter purchased lead for the " town stock" from 
John Emer}', and sent for a further supply to Portsmouth by 
Theodore Carlton ; employed Thomas Gilman to "run it into 
bullets," and finall}' stored the leaden missiles in a chest, 
which Peter Folsom made for the purpose, at the cost of 
three and sixpence. The ammunition was dealt out from 
time to time to other places which stood in greater need, 
very sparingly though ; for notwithstanding Exeter had a 
powder mill in 177G, the explosive dust was too precious to 
be wasted, through a large part of the Revolutionary' war. 

The old powder house is now somewhat weather-beaten 
and dilapidated, and perhaps past its usefulness ; but we 
hope it may be spared, on account of the good service it has 
done in former days. Ma}^ no vandal hand be laid upon it, 
but may it be left to the gentle touch of time, and remain a 
landmark for man}- years to come. 

Another prominent object, on the east side, which surviv- 
ed until a recent date, was the jail, on the spot now occupied 
by the house of Mr. N. K. Leavitt. It is supposed to have 
been built about the year 1770, when the province was divid- 
ed into counties. It was a wooden structure, of limited ca- 
pacity, and at first was surrounded b}' no exterior fence or 
wall. It could not have been a ver^' secure place of confine- 
ment for a person of ingenuity and resources ; and indeed 
more than one prisoner made his escape from it. The notorious 
Henry Tufts, who published his memoirs thirt}^ years after- 
wards, tells us that he was incarcerated there before the Rev- 
olution, and made his way out without much difficult}'. After 
1775 the jail became crowded ; not only were the persons in 
this province, suspected of disafl^ection to the American cause, 
committed there, but tories from other jurisdictions, counter- 
feiters of the colonial paper mone}', and deserters and 
skulkers from the Continental army. So much apprehension 
was then felt that the building was not strong enough 

2 



10 

to contain itis inmates, that armed guards were constantly 
stationed at the door. 

The court house, known also as the town house and 
state house, stood at what is now the easterl}' corner of 
Front and Court streets, on the site of the dwelling of the 
late Mr. Joseph Boardman. The building had formerly 
been the meeting house of the first parish. When it was 
moved across the street and devoted to judicial purposes, 
it was flanked by the stocks and the whipping post. Possi- 
bly the former instrument of discipline may have disappeared 
before 1776, but the latter undoubtedl}^ lasted till then. The 
horse-thief Tufts was flogged there, shortly before that date ; 
unfortunatel}' without eradicating his inborn propensity to 
appropriate unlaw fullj'^ the property of other people to his 
own use. 

One of the town schools, (for the excellence of which 
Exeter was earl}^ noted) was long kept in this town house. 
A "grammar school" was likewise maintained at the ex- 
pense of the town, in 1775-G, under the charge of Clement 
Weeks, a room being hired of Samuel Davis for the purpose. 
The town and court house was the place of assembly for 
the Legislature of New Hampshire, whence it received the 
additional name of state house. Its halls, in the " times that 
tried men's souls," continually echoed to the tread of the 
wisest and bravest of the dwellers among our granite hills. 
Sullivan and Folsom, Stark and Poor, Cille}' and Scammell, 
Dearborn and Reid, in their military attire of blue and buff, 
often trailed their swords along its corridors ; while Weare 
and Langdou, Oilman and Bartlett, Thornton and AVhipple, 
and a host of other patriots in civil life, assembled periodi- 
cally within its walls to devise the wa3'S and means for keep- 
ing an army in the field, until the power of Britain was at 
length broken, and peace crowned the independence of 
America. 

The meeting house of the first parish occupied nearly 



11 

the same spot which its successor, the present church, does 
now. But the 3'ard which surrounded it was then of greater 
extent, and was filled with substantial stone monuments, 
bearing inscriptions in memorj' of the dead who were inter- 
red beneath. A number of ^-ears ago those monuments were 
carefully levelled with the ground, placed above the bodies 
they were intended to commemorate, and thinly covered 
with earth. The rank grass soon sprang up and obliterated 
all traces of the burying ground. Subsequently the street 
was wi.lened in front, and it is understood that the present 
sidewalk passes over a portion of what w-as formerly the 
church-yard. The good taste and propriety of these al- 
terations has been questioned by some of the present genera- 
tion, we believe ; but there is a consolation in the reflection 
that the memorial stones were neither dcstro3'ed nor removed 
from their proper locations, so that should occasion require, 
the information they contain can at any time hereafter be 
made available. . 

A portion of the main tloor of the old meeting house 
was left open to all worshippers indiscriminatel}^, except 
that the men and women occupied different sides. Com- 
parativel}' few persons had private seats. The privilege of 
erecting a pew was highl}' prized, it would appear ; for in 
1775 the rights to build three of them in the meeting house 
were sold at auction to the highest bidders, an^l realized 
handsome premiums. 

The services in the I'eligious meetings, at that period, 
were conducted in most respects as in our own day. We no 
longer have tithing men, however, to look after the sleepers 
and the uneasy youngsters in sermon time. And we do have 
church organs and an abundance of hymn books, which our 
predecessors did not ; by reason of which there has been an 
essential change in the style and manner of the sacred music. 
The " pitch pipe" alone was formerly employed to " set the 
tune," and in good old Deacon Brooks' da}', the hymn in the 



12 

first church was " deaconed" out, a line at a time, before it 
was sung by the choir. 

In 1776 the meeting house was opened on two occasions 
of peculiar interest to the society. The first was on the 
fourteenth of March , when funeral services were performed 
over the remains of the Kev. Woodbridge Odlin, who had 
been the pastor of the church for many years. We learn 
from a contemporary record, that a great congregation as- 
sembled to witness the solemn ceremony ; for the deceased 
clergyman was highly esteemed. 

The other occasion was on the ninth of October, when 
the Rev. Isaac Mansfield of Marblehead, Massachusetts, 
was ordained as the successoj" of Mr. Odlin. The Rev. 
Messrs, Thayer of Hampton, Fogg of Kensington and Webster 
and Noyes of Salisbury were present and toolv part in the 
exercises. Ordinations were great events in the last centu- 
ry ; and we read of one in a town in Massachusetts during 
the Revolution, where the Council during their session dis- 
posed of no less than thirty-eight mugs of flip, twenty-four 
mugs of cider, eleven gills of rum bitters, and two mugs of 
sling ! But we have no reason to suppose that the good cler- 
gymen and brethren who assisted on the occasion referred 
to in our town, found it such thirst}^ work. On the contrary 
it seems to have been accomplished with all due decorum. 

It may be necessary to remind readers of the present day 
that houses of worship a hundred years ago contained 
neither fire-places, stoves, nor other heating apparatus. 
The congregation, so far as temperature was concerned, were 
not much more comfortable, in the winter season, indoors 
than out. But the generation of that day was brought up to 
bear hardships without complaint. The good mother, with- 
in the remembrance of people not aged, used to rely upon a 
few coals in a foot stove, to keep up the vital heat, and per- 
haps the youngest child was bundled up so as to be kept 
comfortable ; but the big boys had to take the severity of the 



13 

weather, seated on the bare boards, with little protection in 
the way of extra clothing. It is a question how large the 
attendance in our churches would be, if the old fashion of 
cold rooms were to be resumed. Luckily for the enjoyment 
.as well as for the size of the congregations, in the matter of 
conveniences and comforts there is no retrogression. Im- 
provements once introduced become necessities ; and New 
England will never go back to cold churches. 

The meeting house of the first parish had long been pro- 
vided with a bell, i»nd the town books inform us that in 1776 
it was daily rung by Pompey Peters at one and nine o'clock 
p. M., according to ancient custom, which has also been con- 
tinued, down to our own da}-. 

The present church was not built till more than twenty 
years after that date. It has been much admired for its archi- 
tectural proportions, and is undoubtedly a fine specimen of 
the ecclesiastical edifices of the last century. Having fortu- 
nately escaped destruction by fire which recentl}- threatened 
to consume it, it is to be hoped it ma}-- now safely survive its 
centennial, in perfect strength and condition. 

The other meeting house in the Exeter of 1776 was that 
of the second parish, and stood on the lot now occupied bj' 
Mrs. Cobbs' house. It was a building of ample size, and had 
resounded to the voice of the eloquent Whitefield, in former 
3'ears. It has now been gone for more than a generation ; 
and the church in the Academy yard is its lineal successor. 

No other place of religious worship existed in the town, 
a centur}' ago, unless the few Quakers who lived here and 
in the vicinity, may still have occasionally held meetings. 
Twenty years before, they are said to have used a building 
which stood upon Front street, where now the residences of 
Mr. J. M. Levering and Mrs. Kennard are, as the place for 
their dumb devotions. No doubt the}' here received occa- 
sional visits from itinerant brethren of their sect, who in 
" good old colony times " perambulated the whole country, 



14 

asd kept up commnuication and interest between the fami- 
lies and communities of Friends in ever}' section. In the 
Revolutionary times, however, the peaceful principles of the 
Quakers became unpopular, and their numbers here had 
probably dwindled, so that it ma}' be doubtful if the small re-, 
mainder did any acts to attract public attention. 

The residence of the Eev. Woodbridge Odliu was in Front 
street, on or near the spot where the house of Mr. B. L. 
Merrill now stands. Mr. Odlin's father, the Rev. John Odlin, 
lived there before him, and the Rev. John Clark occupied 
the same premises at a still earlier date. And as the 
Rev. Dr. Isaac Hurd subsequently passed some forty years 
of his life in the same place, it would be difficult, probably, 
to find another lot of land in New England, which has been 
the home of successive clergymen for so long a period. The 
Rev. Woodbridge Odlin is described as portly in person, 
and a perfect gentleman in his conduct and deportment. He 
■was outspoken in his patriotic sentiments. 

The Rev. Mr. Mansfield, his successor, lived not far 
from the locality' where Mr. Charles Conner's house now is. 

The Rev. Daniel Rogers, the pastor of the second parish, 
was a very estimable man, and possessed much learning. 
During the long term of his residence here, he kept a daily 
journal of occurences, which our local antiquaries, a genera- 
tion ago, greatly relied on as containing materials for the 
history of the town, that somebody has been always going 
to write. What has now become of that journal, we know 
not. It is to be hoped that it has been somewhere safely 
preserved, for the loss of it would be irreparable. Too many 
interesting facts respecting the olden times have already 
passed into oblivion. 

Mr. Rogers lived in a house that formerl}^ stood about 
where the entrance to Franklin street now is. It faced 
towards Water sti'eet, and was long ago removed to another 
situation. 



15 

The '' great bridge, " perhaps the grandfather of the 
present one, spanned the river in 1776, as at present. Of 
course it did not receive its designation from its abstract 
magnitude, but b}- way of distinction from its neighbor, the 
"string bridge, " which, much less than a century ago, con- 
sisted of merel}' a single string-piece of timber flanked by a 
hand-rail, over which only pedestrians could pass. 

The next house to the Rev. Mr, Rogers', probably, on 
the west, was that of " Brigadier" Peter Oilman, as he was 
universally called. It is still standing, and is now the resi- 
dence of Mr. Manly Darling. It was built by Councillor John 
Oilman, if Ave may credit tradition, near two centuries ago, 
and is undoubtedl}' the oldest structure in the town. The main 
body, which was the original edifice, has its walls composed of 
squared logs, making it what was called a garrison house, for 
protection against the attacks of the Indians. It was form- 
erly much more quaint in its external appearance than now : 
but the interior is still worthy of inspection, as an example 
of the primitive domestic architecture of the country. The 
front wing, which has been for several j-ears occupied as a 
store, is an addition of later date, made b}' the Brigadier. 

Peter Oilman's career extended back to an early period 
in the history of Exeter, he having been born in 1703, and 
as he lived to the good old age of eighty-five, he witnessed 
many changes, and in the end ver}- great improvements, in 
his native town. He was for a long period a leading citizen. 
He had the command of a regiment in the French war and 
served with much credit, receiving subsequently the honor of 
a Brigadier Oeneral's commission. For twelve successive 
years he was Speaker of the Assembly of the province, and 
in 1772 and 1773 he was a member of the Oovernor's Coun- 
cil. He was undoubtedly inclined to question the expedi- 
ency of resisting the royal authoritj^, and in 1775 was re- 
quired by the Provincial Congress to confine himself to the 
town of Exeter, and not depart thence without the consent 



16 

of the proper authorities. But he was evidently not looked 
upon as a dangerous foe to liberty, and his scruples appear 
to have been respected by those who took the opposite side. 
His fellow citizens chose him moderator in 1775, which could 
hardly have been done, if he had been a tory in the worst 
sense of the term. 

Brigadier Gilman was a great admirer of Whitefield, and 
an amusing story is told of the power of the great preacher's 
eloquence upon him and others, causing them to roll upon 
the floor in an agony of penitence. Another tradition repre- 
sents him as sending off a press gang, — which had come from 
Portsmouth to Exeter to seize men for the king's service, — 
by admonishing them that every individual they took would 
be rescued from their hands before they reached Stratham. 
The Brigadier appears to have stood up manfully for his 
townsmen, and hence the}' naturally stood by him. 

He was about the only Exeter man of note, whose fideli- 
ty to the American cause came early under suspicion. At a 
later period, however, another person who had previously held 
himself out as a zealous whig, was found guilty of the black- 
est defection. This was Eobert Luist Eowle, the printer, 
whose office in 1776, as he advertised, was "on the grand 
country road, near the State House," — probably on Water 
street not far from the present Court square. Fowle had 
been employed to print the paper money of New Hampshire, 
and was afterwards suspected, on very good grounds, of using 
his press for issuing counterfeits of the same, to be put in 
circulation by disaffected persons ; it being considered a legit- 
imate way of opposing the popular government to discredit its 
circulating medium. Eowle was arrested and held in dur- 
ance for a time, and apparently undertook to secure his own 
safety by betraying his accomplices. Perhaps he was thought 
to be playing false in this; for we are informed that he 
owed his escape at last to the unfaithfulness of his jailor, 
whose carriage was believed one stormy night to have conveyed 



17 

him away; and he sought refuge within the British lines. 

As has ah'eady been stated, the inhabitants of Exeter 
were, almost to a man, in favor of resistance to the oppressive 
measures of the British parliament. Conspicuous among the 
patriots was Col. Nicholas Gilman, the father of Gov. Gilman. 
At the commencement of the Eevolution he was forty- four 
years of age, in the very prime of his powers, a man of reso- 
lution, firmness and sound judgment. He was largely en- 
gaged in business, and was commanding officer of a regiment 
of militia. He was a great favorite with Gov. Wentworth, 
who undoubtedly used all his influence to keep him on the 
side of his royal master, and it is said never ceased to retain 
his attachment for him. But Col. Gilman occupied no doubt- 
ful ground. Early declaring himself on the side of his count- 
ry, his counsel and services were eagerly sought for in her be- 
half, and cheerfully rendered. Money, the sinews of war, was 
the thing most needful ; and he was placed at the head of 
the fiscal department of the state, where he accomplished 
almost as much for New Hampshire as Robert Morris did for 
the country. But his efforts were not limited to any narrow 
sphere. No plan for the public security or advantage 
was adopted until it received the sanction of his approval. 
President Weare held the chief executive office, and Nicholas 
Gilman was his premier. 

The two sons of Col. Gilman who were old enough for 
the military service, took up arms at the beginning of the Rev- 
olutionar}^ struggle. John Taylor, the elder, served in the com- 
pany of volunteers who marched to Cambridge on the morning 
after the first effusion of blood at Lexington and Concord. 
Afterwards he became an assistant to his father at home, and 
rendered invaluable aid to the patriot cause throughout the 
war, in various capacities. The second son, Nicholas, enter- 
ed the army early and served in it six years and three 
months. He was Assistant Adjutant General during the 
later part of his service, and as such returned an account of 

3 



IS 

the prisoners captured on the surrender of Cornwallis at York- 
town. Nathaniel, the third son of Col. Nicholas Oilman, 
was but sixteen when the war began, and did not take part 
in the fighting, though very desirous to do so. But he was 
useful to his father in his manifold employments, and succeed- 
ed him at an early age in his official positions. 

Detachments from Col. Gilman's regiment were from 
time to time called into the field for active duty, and there is 
no doubt that they received his supervision there. But it is 
not known that he served in person, during any campaign, 
though it is likely that he was from time to time at the front. 
It is related that he visited Gates' headquarters in 1777 for 
the purpose of doing his devoir in aiding to arrest the invad- 
ing march of Burgoyne ; but that the decisive battle had been 
fought before his arrival. He probably enjoyed there the 
opportunity of witnessing the surrender of an entire British 
army to the power of united America, which must have yield- 
ed him heartfelt satisfaction. Col. Gilman resided in 1776 
in the house afterwards long occupied by Col. Peter Chad- 
wick, and now by his son and daughter. 

Gen. Nathaniel Folsom acted an important part in the 
Revolutionary drama. A native of Exeter, and descended 
from one of its most ancient families, he had been a soldier 
long before that time. In 1755, at the age of nineteen, he 
was entrusted with the command of a company in a New 
Hampshire regiment raised to serve under Sir William John- 
eon, against Crown Point, and distinguished himself greatly 
by his gallantry and good conduct. He afterwards received 
promotion in the militia, and in 1774 was in the commission 
of the peace, which was then no small honor. He had also 
been for several years a member of the Assembly of the prov- 
ince, and was regarded as one of the leaders of the popular 
cause. In 1774 he was chosen one of the members to repre- 
sent New Hampshire in the general congress at Philadel- 
phia. Apparently Gov. Wentworth hoped to the last that 



19 

Folsom might be brought to repent and renew his fealty to 
the king, for it was not till the twenty-second of February, 
1775, (one hundred and one years ago THIS DAT,) that he 
cast him off. On that day Folsom had the honor of receiving 
a letter of the following tenor : 

Sir: 

I am commanded by his Excellency to acquaint you that he haa, 
with advice ol' his Majesty's Council, ordered your name to be erased from 
tlie commission of the peace for the County of Rockiiigliam, — that it is done 
accordingly, and that you act no more as a justice of the peace for said coun- 
ty. 

By his Excellency's command, 

Is. RiNDOE, 

Clerk of the Court of General Sessions of the 
Peace for the County of Rockingham. 

The ex-Justice did not make himself unhappy over the 
loss of his commission, but was undoubtedly glad to be freed 
from the very semblance of holding office under the king, or 
rather, as the phrase then was, under the king's ministers ; 
for the Americans commonly believed that his gracious maj- 
esty was at heart very friendly to them, and that his advis- 
ers were solely responsible for every tyrannical act visited upon 
the colonies. At a later period the publication of the letters 
of George III. to Lord North showed that this idea was totally 
erroneous, and that the American Revolution was due to the 
obstinacy, folly and despotic notions of the king himself. 

Col. Folsom, (for that was his title in the beginning of 
1775,) was evidently held in the highest estimation as a mili- 
tary commander, for on the twenty-fourth day of May in that 
year, a month after Lexington, and a month before Bunker 
Hill, he received the appoiutment of Major General of " all 
the forces raised (by New Hampshire) for this and the other 
American colonies." This province had then three regiments 
in the field, — Stark's, Poor's, and Eeed's. Gen. Folsom at 
once repaired to Cambridge to take the command of the brig- 
ade. Stark complained (without reason) at Folsom being put 



20 

over him, and was inclined to despise the authority of this 
colony, till his native good sense taught him to act more 
wisely. The misunderstanding and rivalry between Fol- 
som and Stark, however, prevented the nomination of either 
as a general oihcer on the Continental establishment, and 
SuUivau was selected as Brigadier from New Hampshire. 
Gen. Folsom remained in command of the New Hampshire 
troops at Cambridge until the adoption of the army, and the 
appointment of its commanders, by Congress. He then re- 
turned home, but though not again called actively to the 
field, he was allowed no respite from military or civil employ- 
ment. He was retained in command of the militia, who 
were continually kept in readiness for active service in emerg- 
encies, and frequently called forth. In the course of the 
war he was four years a member of the Committee of Safety ; 
was repeatedly chosen to the Legislature, and in 1777 and 
again in 1779 elected a delegate to the Continental Congress ; 
and in addition to all the rest was made a Judge of the Court 
of Common Pleas. 

There was evidently an incompatibility, or at least an im- 
propriety, in a single person exercising such diverse functions 
at the same time, and some exception was taken to it in the Leg- 
islature ; but a majority were of the opinion that the occasion 
justified a departure from ordinary rules, and the perfect con- 
fidence reposed in Gen. Folsom's honesty and patriotism 
silenced all criticism. Gen. Polsom lived in a house which 
formerly stood where Mr. George Sullivan's residence, (now 
the Squamscot House,) was afterwards built. The Folsom 
house was removed farther up Front street, and placed on 
the lot next westerly of the residence of Mr. Luke Julian, 
where it still remains. 

Enoch Poor was one of the most active business men of 
Exeter, when the war began. He had come here some ten 
years before, from Andover, Massachusetts, his native town, 
and had engaged in trade and shipbuilding. He showed 



21 

himself to be decided, bold and fitted for command, and as he 
Avas an ardent friend of liberty, he was regarded at an early 
period as a leader in organizing resistance to the British au- 
thority. He was absent from home when the first shot was 
fired at Lexington, but in a very short time was found at 
Cambridge marshalling the sons of New Hampshire who at 
the first note of alarm had quitted the plough to take up 
arms in behalf of their imperilled brethren of Massachusetts 
Bay. He was at once made Colonel of the second regiment 
of New Hampshire troops, and thenceforward until his death 
shared the fortunes of the American army. He was in command 
of his regiment on the Canada expedition ; and was appointed 
a Brigadier General in 1777, in which capacity he did excel- 
lent service in Gates' army in the battles which resulted in 
the capture of Burgoyne. In Valley Forge he bore his part 
in the privations and sufferings of the troops, and at Mon- 
mouth he won distinction by his efforts in retrieving the for- 
tunes of the day, at first imperilled by Lee's " ill timed re- 
treat. " He accompanied Sullivan in 1779 in his expedition 
against the Indians; and in 1780 was put. in command of 
a brigade of light infantry, under the orders of Lafayette, 
who had a high opinion of him. He died at Paramus, New 
Jersey, on the eighth of September, in that year, of fever, 
after a short illness. It has been believed by some persons 
that he was killed in a duel with a French officer, and that 
the manner of his death was kept a secret, lest it might excite 
ill feeling between our own countrymen and the French who 
were then our useful allies. But it is now the opinion of 
those who have the best means of knowledge, that the story 
of the duel was unfounded. 

Gen Poor was much esteemed by his brother ofiicers. 
Washington wroie of him in terms of high commendation ; 
and when Lafayette visited this country, half a century ago, 
he paid a graceful tribute to his merit, as well as to that of 
another distinguished New Hampshire officer, by giving as a 



22 

sentiment, on a public occasion, — " The memory of Light in- 
fantry Poor, andYorktowu Scammell." 

The residence of Gen. Poor -was in the house now at the 
easterly corner of Center and Water steets, where his widow 
continued to live during the fifty years that she survived 
him. We have, unfortunately, no portraits of many of the 
principal citizens of Exeter one hundred years ago. But a 
likeness of Gen. Poor is still extant. The tradition is that it 
was drawn by the accomplished Polish engineer in the Ameri- 
can service, Thaddeus Kosciuszko, upon the fly leaf of a hymn 
book, in church. It represents the General in the Continen- 
tal uniform, with a cocked hat and epaulets. The features 
are bold and prominent, and we can easily believe that the 
original must have been a man of mark. 

Another of the foremost men of that time was Col. John 
Phillips, the location of whose dwelling has already been de- 
scribed. Though he wore a military title, he was noted not 
so much for his warlike as for his civic achievements. He 
was, however, the commanding officer of the Exeter Cadets, 
and a very well drilled and disciplined corps it was said to be. 
He was also a decided friend of his country, it is understood, 
notwithstanding he took no active pare in public affairs in the 
Revolution. He was bred to the ministry, though he was 
engaged in business as a merchant for the greater part of his 
working life. He employed his large accumulations wisely 
and generously in promoting the cause of education in this 
and other states. 

In the house now occupied by Mr. John W. Getchell 
lived Col. James Hackett in 1776, He had been for some 
time engaged in ship building here, and was a man of enter- 
prise and determination. He was no laggard in evincing his 
willingness to enlist in his country's cause, for he was one of the 
first to march to the scene of hostilities on the morning after 
the Concord fight. The unanimous voice of his fellow vol- 
unteers made him the commander of the extemporized com- 



23 

3any, and he acquitted himself well of the trust. Repeated- 
y, afterwards, during the war, he was chosen to important 
nilitary commands, but his contriving head and skillful 
lands were so constantly needed in constructing ships of war 
md flotilla for offensive and defensive purposes on our coast, 
;hat he is not known to have served as a soldier in any cam- 
jaign, except in Rhode Island, under Gen, Sullivan, in 1778, 
sphere he held the post of lieutenant of a company of light 
lorse, of which no less a person than John Langdon was cap- 
ain. 

Col. Hackett appears to have passed much of his time, 
it a later period, in Portsmouth, where he pursued the busi- 
less of shipbuilding ; and on the occasion of Washington's 
r'isit to New Hampshire in 1789, commanded a battalion of 
irtillery, which received his Excellency on his arrival in 
Portsmouth, with a grand salute. 

The same house was, years afterwards, tenanted by an- 
)ther person who filled during the Revolution a still more con- 
ipicuous public position. This was Gren. Nathaniel Peabody, 
vho was in 1774 a physician in Plaistow, practising his pro- 
ession with great success. He was popular, and aspiring. 
Ee denounced the usurpations of Britain, at the outset, and 
s said to have been the first man in the province to resign the 
king's commission, from political motives. He was repeated- 
y chosen to the Legislature, and upon the Committee of Safe- 
y, and was in 1779 and 1780 a delegate to Congress. Be- 
lide these, he held numerous other ofiices, civil and military, 
)f dignity and importance. As adjutant general of the State 
lis only active service, by a singular coincidence, was in the 
lame Rhode Island campaign, in which his predecessor in the 
labitation, Col. Hackett, first heard the sounds of actual con- 
lict. After the war. Gen. Peabody's popularity was undimin- 
shed, and he received frequent testimony of the confidence of 
lis fellow citizens, in the shape of elections to ofiice. He af- 
erwards removed his residence to Exeter, where he passed 



• 24 

the remainder of liis life. Toward the close of his career he 
was annoyed by pecuniary troubles, and is said to have become 
petulant and rough in his manners. Many stories are yet 
current, of his sharp speeches and harsh conduct. They fur- 
nish another exemplification of the truth of the oft quoted 
words of Shakespeare, 

The evil that men do, lives after them, 
The good is oft interred with their bones. 

Gen. Peabody was undoubtedly possessed of abilities far 
above the average, and rendered valuable service as a legis- 
lator to his state and country, and in his professional capacity 
to the sick and suffering. "We can make allowance for faults 
of temper, and even for more serious defects, in one who so 
stanchly defended the rights of his country in the hour of her 
sorest trial, and bore so important a part in laying the foun- 
dations of the nation's prosperity and greatness. 

Where the To<vn house now is, Joseph Gilman lived in 
1776, in the gambrel-roofed house which, having been reduced 
one story in height, now occupies a place on the north side of 
Franklin street. Mr. Grilman was bred to mercantile pur- 
suits, and for several years before the Eevolution was a mem- 
ber of the firm of Folsom, Gilman and Gilman, which did a 
large business in Exeter, in trade, in ship building and in 
ventures at sea. A printed shop-bill of the concern has been 
preserved, which shows that almost as great a variety of mer- 
chandize found a sale among the good people of the place 
three or four generations ago, as now. 

" Crimson, scarlet and various other color'd Broad Cloths; 
scarlet and green Eatteens ; scarlet, blue and green Plushes ; 
crimson, cloth color'd and black figur'd cotton waistcoat 
Shapes ; Velvet of most colors for capes ; crimson, scarlet, 
black, blue, green and cloth color'd Shaloons," are all articles 
which indicate the prevailing taste of xhat day for bright 
colored clothing ; a taste which must have rendered an assem- 



25 

blage of ladies and gentlemen, a spectacle much more impos- 
ing and pleasing to the eye than a company attired in the 
sombre hues, or the white and black, wiiich are prescribed 
by in ore recent fashions. 

Folsom, Giiman and Gilnian dealt in hardware also, and 
in their enumeration of merchandize of this description, we 
find almost indeutically the tools and iron utensils which are 
advertised by their successors in the same line of business in 
1876. Of course there are more or less Yankee inventions of 
modern date, however, which have superseded the older con- 
trivances. The almost universal use of cooking-stoves, for ex- 
ample, has rendered much of the apparatus, of the old fash- 
ioned fire places obsolete; gun flints are little in demand 
since percussion locks were invented ; hour-glasses are now 
mere matters of curiosity, and " H and HL hinges," thumb 
latches, warming pans and shoe and knee buckles are cer- 
tainly no longer articles of common use. Borne of the goods 
are described by names that sound strangely to our modern 
ears. Tammys and Durants ; Dungereens ; Tandems ; 
Eomalls ; and Snail Trimmings, would be inquired for in 
vain, we fear, at our dry goods stores ; and it is doubtful 
whether Firmers, Jobents, Splenter Locks or Cuttoes would 
be recognized under those designations among our dealers in 
iron-mongery. 

In connection with this subject it may be mentioned that 
another printed Exeter shop-bill of the ante-Eevolutionaiy 
period is still extant. It contains a brief list of the articles 
to be sold by William Elliot, " at his shop formerly occupied 
by Mr. Peter Coffin, and opposite Peter Giiman, Esq'rs." 
It indicates that Mr. Elliot's stock in trade was also quite 
miscellaneous, compHsing dry goods, hardware and groceries. 

Indeed there was one article under the last head, that 
was then kept by every trader ; spirituous liquor. Its use 
was all but universal. We have already related an incident 
to show that good men, engaged in a religious duty, some- 



26 

times partook of the enticing cup with freedom. In fact, 
there was no occasion of unusual interest, from a christening 
to a funeral, but must be observed by a plentiful oblation. 
The selectmen when they met to transact the town business, 
repaired to a tavern, where it was convenient to obtain the 
means to moisten their clay ; and the landlord duly scored 
the mugs and bowls of fragrant beverages which they con- 
sumed, to the account of the town, and his bill was promptly 
met at the close of the year. The Judges, on their circuit, 
were unable to hold the courts without spirituous refresh- 
ment. We have seen a bill of the " Courts' Expences," of 
somewhat earlier date than the era we have been referring 
to, in which the dinners each day were supplemented by a 
liberal number of " Bottelsof wine " and " Boules of punch." 
Mr. William Elliot left his business, when the country 
called for armed defenders, and joined the army. He was 
adjutant in the regiment of Col. Nathan Hale in 1777, and at 
the disastrous fight at Hubbardton was taken prisoner. Ha 
was probably exchanged, subsequently. 

But we have wandered from the subject, on which we 
commenced. The house of Mr. Joseph Gilman was the place 
where most of the meetings of the Committee of Safety were held 
during the war. The Legislature was in session more than 
one-third part of the year 1776, and the Committee, nearly 
the entire residue of the year. It would seem to be a haz- 
ardous thing, to delegate to a dozen men the power to 
arrest, imprison, and release, at their pleasure, any of their 
fellow citizens of the province. If they had been vindictive, 
here was ample opportunity to wreak their vengeance ; if they 
had been rapacious, here were plenty of chances to fill their 
pockets. Many, who were apprehended by their authority, 
made bitter complaints, of course ; but the action of the Com- 
mittee of Safety is believed, on the whole, to have been 
characterized by much prudence and moderation. 

They had a great variety of characters to deal with. 



27 

Not a few of the men of wealth and position were opposed to 
resistance to the British authority. They feared the result 
of an organized insurrection against the power and warlike 
resources of England, and they preferred to submit to what 
they considered the small evil of taxation without representation, 
rather than to incur the hazards of rapine and confiscation, 
which might come in the train of a rebellion suppressed by 
force oi" arms. These timid souls were treated tenderly, and 
after a taste of jail-life allowed to go at large upon giving 
security for their good behavior. It may have been one of 
these who wrote to the Committee the following letter : 

Prison in Exeter, 24th Apl. 1776. 
may it Please your Honors, 

Gratitude being a Duty Incumbent on those who have Reeeiv'd 
Favors, begg Leave to Return your Honors most sincere thanks for the Very 
Great Favor you have Done me in admitting me to Bail for the Liberty of 
this house and the Yard thereto adjoyning, <.t am with the utmost Respect, 
Sincerity ct Esteem 

yr Honors most obedient Servant, 
John Pattks. 
Tiie Honorable Committee of Safety. 

As the " liberty of the yard" is alluded to in this letter, 
a word on the subject of that ancient legal fiction, as it may 
be termed, will perhaps not be void of interest to the people 
of this age, to whom imprisonment for debt is happily un- 
known. In former times, when a man who could not pay 
what he owed, was liable to compensate for his inability by 
the loss of his personal liberty, debtors in many cases could 
enjoy the privilege of living outside the jail walls, provided 
they did not exceed certain limits, which were fixed at a con- 
venient distance, — for a long time two hundred rods, — from 
the building, in every direction. In order to secure this ad- 
vantage, which was obviously a great relief from actual in- 
carceration, the debtor was obliged to give a bond, with good 
sureties, that he would keep within the prison " yard," as the 
limits were called. And if he overstepped the line, even for 
a single inch, his bond was forfeited, and his sureties were 
liable to pay the debt. 



28 

Apropos of this, a stoiy is told of a debtor in Exeter, in 
the olden time, who being under bond to confine himself to 
the jail yard, saw a child, who had fallen into the river, strug- 
ling for its life, at a noint Just beyond the line which he was 
bound not to transcend. His humanity outweighed all other 
considerations, and he broke bounds without hesitation, and 
saved the child. It is pleasant to record that though the 
creditor might have extorted his debt from the bondsmen, for 
this act of mercy on the part of their principal, he never 
made the atttempt. If he had forgiven his debtor in full, it 
would have been better still. 

But some of the tories who came under the cognizance of 
the Committee of Safety, were not to be handled with too 
much tenderness. They were sullen and vindictive, and ready 
to do anything to obstruct the progress of popular govern- 
ment. One of the men concerned with Fowle the printer, 
in emitting counterfeit paper money, was of this description. 
He had occupied a position of some distinction in the prov- 
ince. It was a bitter humiliation for him to lie in the jail 
with common malefactors, but he was too proud and obstinate 
to recant the opinions he had often expressed ; and so he 
chafed in confinement, until by the aid of friends without, he 
was enabled to make his escape. This was the well known 
Col. Stephen Holland, of Londonderry. His influence on 
those about him must have been rated high, since it was 
deemed necessary to imprison his negro man, Cato, as well 
as his master. After the colonel's flight, the Committee ap- 
pear to have issued hand-bills for his apprehension, and em- 
ployed Benjamin Boardman to go express to Boston, "to 
carry advertisements after the Col. Holland." They turned 
out to be " after " him, indeed ; for he was so far in advance 
of them that he reached the enemy's lines in safety. He was 
banished by a formal act of the General Court, and his proper- 
ty confiscated. 

Mr. Joseph Gilman was himself Chairman of the Com- 



29 

mittee of Safety, at one period, and held various public trusts, 
durinfj; and after the war. His wife was a w'oman of thorough 
education and many accomplishments, liis house appears to 
have been repeatedly visited by strangers of distinction, dur- 
ing the Revolution. Some of the high bred French officers 
who drew their sv^ords in behalf of America, are said to have 
expressed their admiration for the culture and esprit of Mrs. 
Oilman, as beyond anything they had witnessed elsewhere in 
the country. Samuel Adams passed a night at ^Ir. Oilman's 
house in the latter part of 1776, just before the victories at 
Princeton and Trenton had relieved the feeling of despond- 
ency caused by the prior disasters to our arms ; and all Mrs. 
Gilman's powers of pleasing were said to have been exerted 
to cheer the drooping spirits of the patriot, without effect. A 
military success was then the only cure for the gloom of the 
stern king-hater. 

The dwelling place of Maj. Jonathan Cass, one of the 
veterans of the Revolution, was where the house of Mrs. J. 
L. Robinson now is. At the outbreak of the war he was 
twenty-two years of age, and according to description, was an 
erect, handsome man, with keen black eyes. He enlisted 
in the army as a private soldier, and served until peace was 
estabhshed, having taken part in most of the principal battles. 
As early as 1777 his merits procured him promotion to an 
ensigncy, and at the close of the war he was a captain. He 
then resumed his residence in Exeter for a few years, and his 
distinguished son, Lewis Cass, was born here in 1782. About 
1790 the father re-entered the army, in command of a company 
raised for the defence of the Western frontier, and subse- 
quently received the commission of major. He was so much 
pleased with the appearance of the Western country, that he 
established his home in Ohio, where he died in 1830. 

Lewis Cass remained in Exeter till he finished his 
studies at the Academy, and received a diploma, signed by the 
Principal and President of the board of Trustees, certifying 



30 

his proficiency and good conduct; a copy of which, in his own 
youthful handwriting, is still preserved. His career, after he 
quitted the home of his youth, is matter of familiar history. 

Col. Samuel Folsom, a brother of Gen. Nathaniel Fol- 
som, was a well known and respected citizen, in 177G. His 
house was at the easterl}' corner of Court square and Water 
street, and is now occupied by Mr. George W. Dearborn. It 
is believed to have been built a year or two before the date 
mentioned, probably to replace a former edifice removed or 
destroyed. Col. Folsom kept a public house, as his widow 
continued to do many years after his death. He was lieuten- 
ant colonel of the Exeter corps of Independet Cadets, com- 
manded by Col. John Phillips. He was intrusted with much 
important business, during the Revolution, requiring sound 
and tried capacity, and devotion to his country's interests. 

After John Langdon, in the midst of the apprehensions 
excited by the triumphant incursion of Burgoyne, inspirited 
the people of New Hampshire, by the offer of his private 
property, to organize an expedition under Gen. Stark, with 
the purpose of turning back the invader. Col. Folsom was 
delegated by President Weare, Chairman of the Committee of 
Safety, to visit Gen. Stark, to convey him money for contingent 
expenses, to learn how his expedition was progressing, what 
articles it stood in need of, and to " advise with all persons in 
the service of this state on such things as he thought need- 
ful to forward the business they are engaged in." His confi- 
dential and discretionary mission appears to have been exe- 
cuted to the satisfaction of all parties ; and we know how 
thoroughly Stark was enabled to perform the part required 
of him, when he met the enemy at Bennington. 

A couple of years afterwards Col. Folsom was selected 
by the General Court to discharge the agreeable duty of pre- 
senting in behalf of the state, to Col. Joseph Cilley, a pair of 
pistols which had been the property of Col. Stephen Hol- 
land, the tory absentee; and the receipt of Col. Cilley re- 



31 

mains to testify that the commission was duly accomplished. 

It was at the house of Col. Folsom that President George 
Washington stopped and partook of a collation, when he visit- 
ed Exeter in his tour through the Eastern states, in the 
autumn of 1789. There is probably no person now living, 
who saw the Father of his Country here, although one or 
two who well remembered the occasion, have but recently de- 
ceased. 

If time would permit, information could be obtained, no 
doubt, which would enable us to fix the residences, and give 
some account of the services, of many others of our former 
townsmen, who responded to the call of the country in the 
struggle for independence. But the brief space allowed for 
the completion of these sketches forbids extended inquirj'- and 
research ; and we must be content with recording such frag- 
ments of personal history of that character, as are to be col- 
lected at short notice. 

Peter Coffin, the predecessor of William Elliot in his 
store, near the western extremity of the great bridge, was 
a major, in Col. David Gilman's regiment. His family name 
was once familiar here, and his ancestors are said to have 
lived in what is now the yard of the Academy. An orchard 
which belonged to them, then bore its fruit on the ground 
now covered by the Academy. 

The old Exeter family of Robinson was well represented 
in the Continental service, two of its members holding commis- 
sions therein; the one, Caleb Eobinson, as captain, and the 
other, Noah, as ensign. 

Noah Emery, a name handed down for generations, here, 
was a paymaster in Col. Isaac Wyman's regiment, and com- 
missary. In the latter capacity he had tlie charge of a large 
amount of stores, which tradition says were housed in a build- 
ing in Spring street, familiarly termed " the state's barn." It 
i» of Paymaster Emery that a story is told, that being ordered 
to carry some dispatches by night on horseback in a strange 



no 

part of the country, he crossed a bridge on his way, which he 
did not discover till the next day, had been previously strip- 
ped of its planking. His horse had cautiously felt his way 
over it, upon the timbers, while the rider was all unconscious of 
the fearful risk he was running. The statement would hardly 
be credited, if there were not authentic accounts of other 
similar occurrences. The duties performed by Mi. Emery 
under the direction of the state authorities must have kept 
him very busy. He was employed frequently in the purchase, 
forwarding and distribution among the troops, of the various 
needed supplies, and was relied on to transact much incidental 
business. Indeed, toward the close of the war, he and John 
Taylor Gilnian, afterwards governor of the state, appear to 
have attended to most of the wants of the New Hampshire 
troops. Perhaps Col. Eliphalet Giddings, the collector of the 
" beef tax," should be included with them. 

Dr. Samuel Tenney was a surgeon in une of the Rhode 
Island regiments. He had previously settled in this town, 
and returned and married a wife here at the expiration of his 
service. He was a person of uncommon literary and scien- 
tific attainments, and contributed articles to the publications 
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a topo- 
graphical account of Exeter to the Collections of the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society. He felt a warm interest in politi- 
cal matters, also, and was for seven years a Representative 
in Congress. He likewise held the office of Judge of Pro- 
bate ; and was highly respected. 

Another citizen of Exeter who served in the medical de- 
partment of the army was Dr. William Parker, junior. He 
was a grandson of Judge William Parker of Portsmouth, 
whose father married, it is said, a daughter of the English 
patrician house of Derby. Dr. Parker died in Exeter of yel- 
low fever, which he contracted from a patient. 

James McClure was the adjutant of a New Hampshii;e 
regiment in the Continental service. He is believed to have 



33 

jd in the house on the south side of Water street now 
onging: to Mr. Franklin Lane. 

Benjamin Boardman performed a tour of duty in the 
solution as the commanding officer of a company. He 
3 a noted man in the town, and many years afterwards 
)t a pubUc house on the east side of the river. 

Ebenezer Light was a lieutenant for two years, or more, 
ihe New Hampshire line. His name was once a common 
) in Exeter ; and Light's tavern on Tower hill was a well 
3wn place of entertainment. But no branch of the family 

V remains here, so far as we can ascertain. 

Samuel Brooks of Exeter appears to have been quarter- 
ster in Col. David Gilman's regiment. Whether this was 
excellent deacon, who lived in a house removed to make 

Y for the present Methodist church, we are not certain. 
t if he undertook the duties, it is safe to say that he made 
ood quartermaster, for he was a faithful and thorough 
n. There is no doubt that he was employed by the Com- 
;tee of Safety to pay the New Hampshire troops who were 
Arnold's ill fated expedition against Quebec. It may 
Brest the reader to learn that the amount paid them, in- 
ding expenses, was three hundred forty-eight pounds, 
en shillings. 

Ebenezer Clifford, who was quartermaster sergeant in 
L. Poor's regiment in 1775, was probably the person who 
aoved hither from Kensington about 1790, and lived in the 
igadier Gilman house until his death. He was an ingeni- 
i mechanic, and constructed a diving bell, with the aid of 
ich he is said to have recovered a quantity of silver money' 
m the wreck of a Spanish or other foreign vessel, at the Isles 
Shoals. The coin had suffered, during its long submer- 
Q, a wondrous sea change, and was found to be covered 
;h some kind of marine incrustation. A portion of it was 
,ced for safe keeping in the old Exeter Bank, and when 
I vault of that institution was entered and robbed of its valu- 

5 • 



34 

able contents, about the year 1828, some of Mr. Clifford's 
•ilver pieces were among the spoils. The story goes, that the 
peculiar appearance of the money afforded the clew by 
which the guilty persons were detected. 

It would not be just, in any recital of the services of our 
townsmen in the Revolution, to omit to mention the Inde- 
pendent company that volunteered under the command of 
Capt. John Langdon in 1777, and marched to Saratoga to aid 
in the capture of Burgoyne. The lieutenant of the company 
was Col. Nicholas Gilman, and the private soldiers were 
composed of the solid men of Exeter, Portsmouth and New- 
market. Most of them were of mature age, and many had 
held military commissions. No roster of the company is now 
accessible, but it is known that among the Exeter quota were 
such men as Capt. Samuel Gilman, Col. Eliphalet Giddings, 
Col. Nathaniel Giddings and Ephraim Robinson, Esq. That 
citizens of such age and standing were ready to leave their 
families and business to shoulder the musket in defence of 
their country, is proof positive of the pressing nature of the 
emergency, and of the absolute necessity then felt that the pro- 
gress of the hostile army should be checked, and a sub- 
stantial triumph gained to the cause of America. And the 
momentous consequences which ensued from the capitulation 
of Burgoyne, proved that this feeling was founded in reason 
and a just appreciation of the situation. 

There were of course not a few other persons in Exeter 
whose services were called into requisition in some way, by 
the state authorities. 

John Rice, Esq., (we append the title, because it was 
not common, though much valued, in those days,) whose house 
was where the parsonage of the first parish now is, furnished 
board and a place of meeting for the Committee of Safety in 
the earlier part of the war. 

John Ward Gilman, who lived in the old house on the 
north side of Water street near string bridge, now owned by 



35 

Mr. Alva Wood, manufactured for the newly formed state 
a seal, the impression of which, no doubt, is found upon the 
commissions of the period. The device was certainly more ap- 
propriate than the ship on the stocks, which for some un- 
known reason was subsequently adopted, and is retained on 
the present seal. It consisted of the fasces, the emblem of 
authority ; on one side of . which was a pine tree and on the 
other a fish, in allusion to two of the chief sources of the early 
prosperity of the colony. An appropriate inscription sur- 
rounded the whole. 

Thomas Odiorne was a representative in the Legislature 
during a portion of 1776, and was afterwards a member of 
the Committee of Safety. He. furnished a considerable 
amount of clothing for the soldiers, and was entrusted with 
the purchase of equipments for the field, — among other things, 
"Colours for Colo. Cilley's Regiment." 

Theodore Carlton, who appears to have opened a tav- 
ern during the war, had some of Col. Poor's soldiers quarter- 
ed there for a time. Men enlisted for the army, in a time of 
actual hostilities, are proverbially not the quietest of lodgers, 
and it is not strange that Mr. Carlton found that his premises 
sustained some damage. A committee reported thereon, that 
there were "42 squares of glass broke, 2 stairs broke, 6 doors 
gone, several others broke, and plaistering broke down in 
several rooms." 

Capt. Eliphalet Ladd, the father of William Ladd, the 
" apostle of peace," had occasional business with the Com- 
mittee and the Legislature. He was a man of untiring 
energy, and did not suffer the war to check his enterprise. 
He was ene-ao-ed in trade on a considerable scale, and built 
ships and planned voyages, in spite of the enemy's cruisers. 
He met with heavy losses, but on the whole was thought to 
have increased his property during the Revolution. 

Constable Joseph Lamson's official aid was occasionally 
called into requisition by the Committee of Safety, when sit- 



36 

ting in a judicial capacity. He summoned the witnesses, 
and perhaps waited on the prisoners to and from the jail. 
Per the town he acted as a general disbursing agent and fac- 
totum. Among his multifarious charges in 1776, was one 
" for warning four families out of town." This was not, as 
might be imagined, an act of inhospitality, or a reflection on 
the morals of the families alluded to. It simply implied that 
they had little visible means of support, and were considered 
liable to become paupers. A town was then responsible for 
the support of all its inhabitants falling into pauperism, who 
had resided therein for a certain period, without being form- 
ally notified to depart. It was the practice, therefore, of the 
prudent town authorities to serve the " warning " process 
upon every family that seemed in danger of coming to want. 
The proceeding was probably thought to be rather a harsh 
reminder of impending poverty, and another generation wiped 
it from the statute book. 

Many as were the embarrassing questions with which 
the Committee of Safety were called on to wrestle, it is doubt- 
ful if they were ever more nonplussed than when a party of 
Indians were consigned to their hospitality. To what tribe 
these sons of the forest belonged we have no record. The 
few facts known indicate, that being friendly to the American 
cause they visited the headquarters of the army out of curi- 
osity and for the purpose of expressing their good wishes. 
The commanding general, probably at a loss to know what to 
do with them, relieved himself of the dilemma by forwarding 
them to the New Hampshire capital. They arrived in Exe- 
ter in the early part of 1776, but did not make a long stay. 
The Committee of Safety no doubt regarded them as an ele- 
phantine prize. Our streets were for a few days enlivened 
by the spectacle, familiar enough a century before, of the red 
men in their barbaric costume ; then the distinguished visitors, 
sickened by overmuch good cheer perhaps, came into the 
doctor's hands ; and at length were forwarded at the public 



37 

charge to Suncook, ignominiously, in a storm. About a 
dozen pounds paid the expenses of the visitation. 



We cannot better close these too meagre and desultory 
notices of our town and its people at the heroic period when 
our independence was achieved, than by an outline of the 
most impressive occurrence that Exeter witnessed during the 
eventful year of 1776. 

When the dispute with Britain was begun, it was with 
no general expectation that it would result in a severance be- 
tween the colonies and the mother country. The provincials 
professed perfect loyalty, and assumed self government only 
during " the present unhappy and unnatural contest with 
Great Britain." But as the struggle went on, the popular 
ideas became modified, and the public came at length to com- 
prehend that it was idle to expect to reunite ties which the 
sword had sundered. 

A few sagacious minds had foreseen this from the out- 
set. It is due to the able leaders of the popular movement 
in New Hampshire that it should be generally known that 
they contemplated the assumption of independence, and sug- 
gested it in an eloquent official letter from their Convention of 
Delegates, to the Continencal Congress, as early as the twenty- 
third of May, 177o. This is the first allusion to the sub- 
ject in any known communication from an organized body, in 
the country. 

As the sentiment of the whole people became gradually 
ripe for the final step of separation from Britain, movements 
were made in the colonial Legislatures, looking to that result. 
In New Hampshire a committee of both Houses reported on 
the fifteenth of June, 1776, instructions to " our Delegates in 
the Continental Congress to join with the other colonies in 
declaring the Thirteen United Colonies a Free an"D Inde- 
pendent State ; solemnly pledging our faith and honor, 



38 

that we will on our parts support the measure with our Lives 
and Fortunes." 

From this time forward there was impatience in the 
breast of every true friend of liberty, to blot out the very 
memory of subjection, to make way for the new and glorious 
career that was opening for the infant nation. The action of 
Congress was waited for, anxiously, longingly, eagerly. 

At length the wished for moment arrived. An express 
dashed into the village of Exeter, bearing a letter, addressed 
to the Convention of New Hampshire, and authenticated by 
the manly signature of John Hancock. The Legislature had 
adjourned, but the President was here, perhaps waiting for 
the important missive. It was determined that the contents 
of the letter, containing the glad tidings of the Declaration of 
Independence, should be forthwith publicly read. 

The honor of pronouncing for the first time in New 
Hampshire, the impressive periods of that unequalled produc- 
tion, was appropriately devolved upon John Taylor Oilman. 
No firing of cannon or ringing of bells was needed to give 
eclat to the occasion ; the general joy was too sincere and 
heartfelt to find expression in noisy demonstrations. Meshech 
"VVeare, the President of the state, Mathew Thornton, who 
was himself soon to set his hand to the instrument. Gen. Folsom 
and Col. Pierse Long and Ebenezer Thompson, all members 
of the Committee of Safety, and tried and true patriots, were 
present. The news had spread with the speed of lightning 
through the town. The farmer dropped his scythe in the 
swath, the mechanic left his saw in the kerf and even the 
good wife forsook her spinning wheel, while all gathered to 
hear the words which they felt were to give them freedom and 
a country. But perhaps there was no one of the audience 
whose heart was thrilled more deeply by the immortal De- 
claration, than Col. Nicholas Gilman, the father of him who 
read it. He had put his whole life and energy into the cause 
of his country ; he foresaw that nothing but formal separa- 



y 



tion from the parent state would prevent his dearest hopes 
from going down in darkness ; he welcomed the words which . 

rent the brightest jewel from Britain's crown, with joy ^ 

and thankfulness unutterable. The reader, from filial as 
well as patriotic sensibility, shared his emotion, and there 
were pauses, when the rush of feeling o'ermastered speech. 
Exeter has witnessed many returns of the anniversary of 
our National Birthday, and has listened to the utterances of 
lips touched with the living coal of eloquence ; but the First 
Reading of the Declaration of Independence, on the eighteenth 
of July, 1776, enchained the attention with a significance and 
power which have never since been paralleled. 




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